Five stars or fake? How to beat fraudulent online reviews | Money

As many shoppers search for bargains in advance of Amazon’s “Prime Day” sale this week, there is a growing scepticism about how they can judge the products they are thinking of buying.

Three-quarters of people read the reviews posted about products and services, but doubts are mounting over the trustworthiness of these reviews. A burgeoning market for fakes has emerged, and experts say consumers must be vigilant.

So how can consumers know that what they are buying is reliable?

The rise of the fakes

Customer reviews have a huge influence over consumer spending, which is worth billions of pounds each year. When reviews are real, constructive and well-intentioned, they are of huge benefit to shoppers. Not so when they are fake.

A fake review will appear to have been written by a genuine customer but, unlike real reviews, they are paid for by the manufacturer or trader to boost ratings and rankings on sellers’ websites – which in turn boosts sales. In some cases companies give away goods or refund purchases in return for glowing reviews. But these practices are illegal under consumer protection law.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently warned online giants Facebook and eBay about “troubling evidence of a thriving marketplace for fake online reviews” and urged swift action to remove the content.

The CMA’s investigations found businesses, agencies and individuals offering to buy or write fake reviews for cash on both online platforms, although the CMA did not believe Facebook and eBay were intentionally allowing this to happen.

Past work by the CMA has led to action. Online marketing firm Total SEO & Marketing was forced in 2016 to remove about 800 fake reviews it had produced for small businesses.

The CMA also made accommodation website Airbnb change its policy on customer reviews in 2017. Prior to this, if a customer arrived at a property but decided not to stay, or left early, they would not be able to automatically post a review online.

Consumer lobby group Which? has done extensive research on fake reviews and believes they are a growing menace. While Facebook and eBay have taken action after notification by the CMA, Which? says this is just the tip of the iceberg. “This is a massive and widespread problem online,” says the group’s Adam French.

Which? found tens of thousands of five-star “unverified” reviews on Amazon during their latest investigation in April this year. An unverified review is one posted by someone who did not purchase the item. Thousands of unverified reviews were posted on the same day and for the same products – typically tech devices, such as headphones, dash cams, fitness trackers and phone chargers with unknown brand names.

“There is a serious trust issue here and it discredits the selling platforms where the reviews appear,” says French. “The heaviest detriment falls on those consumers who can least afford it. Those people looking for a bargain, who cannot afford the…